


The Way You Care

by Lumelle



Series: Dating Durins [1]
Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dwalin Is A Softie, Genderfluid Nori, M/M, Other, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-16
Updated: 2016-04-16
Packaged: 2018-06-02 14:21:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6569701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lumelle/pseuds/Lumelle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dwalin is not that sick, really he isn't. Nori's exaggerating all this need for rest and care, obviously.</p><p>Not that he doesn't appreciate being taken care of. Maybe it'll even help him get out that L-word.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Way You Care

**Author's Note:**

> A friend wanted a sickfic and I provided.
> 
> Also apparently Nori decided to be vaguely genderfluid somewhere in there.

"You must be out of your mind."

"I think that's my line, actually." Nori looked far too chipper for so early in the morning, leaning against the door frame and spinning Dwalin's car keys on his finger. Which would have been ridiculous, really, it wasn't like Nori could play keep-away with him for long, except even the thought of climbing out of bed seemed unsurmountable right now. "You look like you can barely make it to the bathroom. I'd be utterly irresponsible to let you drive."

"So you drive me." Maybe he sounded petulant. He was allowed to, damn it. Nobody should have to deal with both a cold and a snippy Nori in the same day.

"What, so you can spread your disease to everyone, including me? Forget it. Besides, I already called Thorin to let him know you have the plague, and he told you to stay home until you get better. So even if you made it to work, he'd probably just turn you right back."

"I hate you." Dwalin sank a little further under the covers. They utterly failed to keep him warm.

"No, you don't. You hate the fact that I'm the only one being sensible about your being sick, despite the fact that you still haven't made it out of bed." Nori spun the keys one last time before tucking them away in his pocket. "Anyway, I need to get going or I'll be late. There's drinks and pills on the nightstand, get some fluids in you but don't overdo it with the meds, your cell phone's there if you get worse, I'll be back by two. There should be leftovers from last night in the fridge if you can get that far. Do you need me to get a bucket in case you start to puke?"

"I'm not going to puke." He would be just fine if he could only get to his feet.

"Great, I'd hate to have to clean that up." Nori blew him a kiss. "Don't die before I get home, okay? That's not something I want to come back to."

"So sorry my being sick is inconveniencing you." Not that he was actually sick, of course. It was just a bit of a cold, nothing he couldn't shake by noon. At which point he would just call someone to take him to work because Nori was insisting on being an annoying little prick. "I hate you."

"Love you, too." With that, Nori turned away, waving at Dwalin one last time over his shoulder before walking out of the bedroom. A moment later Dwalin heard the front door closing.

Sighing, he tugged the covers up a little further. If he was stuck here anyway, a little nap wouldn't hurt. He'd feel better afterwards and could maybe call Nori to yell at him. How exactly was Nori so efficient about someone being sick, anyway? It damn well wasn't due to their relationship; Dwalin couldn't even remember when he'd last been sick, but it definitely hadn't been during the time they had been dating.

But. Yes. Sleep seemed like an excellent idea.

Maybe it'd stop him from thinking about stupid things, such as why the only time either of them could actually use the l-word was when they were being sarcastic.

*

The first thing that woke Dwalin up was the front door closing, followed shortly by Nori's call of, "Hello? You still alive?"

Dwalin grunted a reply, refusing to open his eyes just yet. He was fairly sure he had slept through most of Nori's absence, though there had been a few slightly more awake moments scattered here and there. Not that he had accomplished anything aside from a few sips of water, mind. Maybe he was a bit sicker than he had thought.

Not that he would actually admit it to anyone, least of all Nori.

"Dwalin?" The voice approached along with familiar footsteps. Dwalin stubbornly kept his eyes closed until he felt a cool hand touching his forehead. "Wow, you're still burning up."

"I'm fine," he ground out, trying not to care about how gravelly his voice sounded. Maybe he was just going through a late puberty. Yes, that had to be it. It also explained why he couldn't get out of bed, clearly. Fíli and Kíli could give hibernating bears a run for their money. If bears had had money, which they didn't, as far as Dwalin knew anyway.

"You are absolutely not fine." The bed sank a little as Nori apparently sat down on the edge. Opening his eyes just a little, Dwalin found Nori frowning at the bedside table. "You haven't had enough to drink, either."

"I did have some." That wasn't a lie, even. He was pretty sure it wasn't. "Was sleeping."

"Well, better than trying to get up, I suppose." Nori ran his hand over Dwalin's forehead one last time in an almost fond gesture, then stood up again, shaking his head. "I'll get you some more to drink, the last thing we need is you getting dehydrated. Oh, and I'm going to make you soup."

"I'm not hungry." Which was only partially true. He was feeling a bit peckish, actually, though less than he might have expected considering all he'd had all day were a few sips of water. However, he was absolutely not hungry for Nori's cooking. It barely even deserved the word, and then only because it tended to involve a stove and materials that could be considered foodstuffs. Dwalin was fairly sure Nori was convinced egg shells were an essential part of a healthy omelet.

"Nonsense! You're not going to get any better if you don't eat." Nori shook his head. "You lie back and try to drink a little more, I'll get you fresh water in just a moment. I'll make you Dori's special chicken soup, he swears it'll cure anything short of a severed limb."

Now, that Dwalin could almost believe. Dori was an excellent cook, judging by the very few times Dwalin had had the honour of tasting his cooking. Sadly, a recipe did not a chef make, and Nori was not his brother. However, it wasn't like he had the energy to protest or escape, so all he could do was sink back into bed and try his best to fall convincingly asleep before Nori managed to conjure up some sort of concoction he might call soup.

Apparently, though, he had been sleeping too long already, as sleep would not come save for a few short bursts that were always interrupted by some sound or another from the kitchen. Which was just as well, as Nori entered the bedroom some time later with a bowl of soup that actually smelled delicious.

"Okay, can you sit up? Because I doubt either of us wants me to feed you." At Dwalin's non-committal reply, Nori rolled his eyes and set the bowl on the nightstand before he all but dragged Dwalin up in the bed, propping him up with pillows against the headboard. Dwalin shuffled along best as he could, figuring that it was, indeed, much preferable to the humiliation of being spoon-fed like a child.

Despite the smell he was still dubious as Nori presented him with the bowl and a spoon. However, as he brought the first small, cautious spoonful to his lips, he very nearly gasped in surprise.

"What the hell? This is actually good!" And wow, he really had to be sick to admit that aloud. Usually he knew better than to aggravate Nori like that. Somewhat to his surprise, though, Nori just smirked a bit.

"It's the one thing I can actually make properly. Had to learn it, really. Ori was sick a lot as a kid, and wouldn't eat anything but Dori's special soup. So when Dori was too busy to babysit, my only choices were to learn to make the soup or listen to Ori whine about how hungry he was and how Dori makes the best soup."

"Right." It made sense, really, that Nori would have learnt for his baby brother. He would never say it out loud, but Nori would have done just about anything for Ori. "Wait." Dwalin frowned, a sudden realisation hitting him with the second spoonful. "If you know you can't cook, why do you insist on doing so?" Not only did Nori cook dinner once a week, he made a big thing out of it. Thursdays were Nori's cooking days, and if Dwalin wasn't home for dinner to endure whatever latest monstrosity Nori had subjected his poor kitchen to, well, a happy partner was not happening.

Nori was quiet just long enough for Dwalin to start wondering if actually saying that aloud had been a bad idea, and was he actually that feverish? As Nori finally spoke, though, there was a small, almost self-deprecating smile on his face. "It's kind of stupid. And you're going to hate me if I actually say it."

"I barely have the energy to lie down, never mind hate anyone. And I would not hate the person who brings me soup like this."

"It's because you always eat it." Well. That was… not that surprising, really, considering Nori. "No matter what I put in front of you, no matter how horribly it turns out, you always eat it and say it's good, even when I can see you have to stop yourself from making a face. And, well. I guess some stupid part of me likes seeing that you'll even pretend to like my cooking, just because I made it."

"So… what? It's proof that I like you?"

"Something like that." Nori shrugged, looking a bit uncomfortable. "Yes, I know I'm probably an arse for doing so. But, hey, I never claimed to be a good boyfriend, or girlfriend for that matter."

"Well, you do always eat it yourself, too, so I suppose it's fair." Dwalin somehow managed a smile. "If I can find other ways to show that I like you, can we make Thursdays takeaway night?"

"Don't push your luck." Nori was smirking, though, which was much better than the awkward look of moments before. "Finish your soup, you big oaf."

"Gladly." And, for once with Nori's cooking, he actually meant it.

*

By evening, Dwalin was actually feeling much better.

For a moment he almost got grumpy about it, thinking about a wasted day spent in bed when clearly he could have just gone on with his life, but he knew that doing so would have inevitably led to Nori insisting that it was only because of rest that he had gotten better at all. And if he had tried to argue with that, Nori just might have called Balin to back him up, or worse, Thorin. Thorin could be a worse mother hen than Dís was, and that was saying something.

"Hi there, Sleeping Beauty." Nori looked up from the television as he heard Dwalin walking into the living room. "I see you've managed to make it to your feet."

"Yeah. I feel a lot better." He still had a bit of a fever, according to the thermometer, but it was nothing a blanket and a warm Nori couldn't solve, and he was sick and tired of being cooped up in the bedroom all the time. "What are we watching?"

"Some sort of a wedding show, I think. At least there are a lot of white dresses and a whole lot of people behaving irrationally, so I think it's something like that."

"Oh?" Dwalin plopped down on the couch next to Nori, careful to keep the blanket wrapped around himself. A moment later an arm settled around his shoulders, which made the remaining fever a lot more bearable. "There something I should be aware of?"

"Yes. Weddings are a horrible idea that turns mildly annoying people into complete monsters. If I'm ever involved in one, I'm wearing a purple minidress with sparkles. Also possibly nipple tassels, just because I can."

"Well, you do have the legs for it." Dwalin shook his head. "Dori wouldn't let you get away with the tassels, though."

"Who says Dori's going to be involved?"

"If you think I'm going to believe that you'd ever get married without involving Dori and Ori, you must have an even lower opinion of me than I thought. Especially since the only reason you'd ever do that would be to make them happy."

"I suppose I can't deny that." Nori shuffled a bit closer to Dwalin, still lazily watching the TV. "Still wearing the sparkly purple minidress, though. And you'll have to help me shop for it."

"I already quake in fear," Dwalin said as on the screen a bride-to-be threw a tantrum that most two-year-olds would have found to be a bit over the top, all because her mother hadn't found the exact right shade of pink for her earrings. It was mildly entertaining, he supposed, and certainly less likely to make him think too deeply than the implication that Nori expected him to still be in the picture around the time Nori managed to be pressured into marriage.

"You should. I'd be the worst bridezilla. Or groomzilla, whatever. Bet you I could manage both."

"If anyone could, it's you. And yet I'd fear Dori more." This was good, Dwalin decided. Watching mindless TV with Nori holding him, still feeling a bit sick but getting better. He turned his head and inhaled deep the scent of Nori's shampoo. "Nori?" he murmured, face almost hidden in his partner's hair.

"Yeah?" Nori sounded distracted, no doubt by the TV. From the sounds of it someone was crying right now.

"I love you." It was probably too quiet for Nori to hear, what with the TV and everything, not that Dwalin particularly tried to make it very loud. He was just testing it out, really, rolling the words over his tongue, seeing what it felt like with no sarcasm behind the confession.

Nori didn't respond, but Dwalin could swear he drew him a bit closer.

*

The following Thursday they ordered a pizza for dinner.

Dwalin wasn't sure who slipped a wedding magazine into their mail box, but he was fairly sure Thorin was to blame for it in the end.


End file.
